Xmen REset
by Soulfulbard
Summary: Cessily Kincaid came to the Institute for a place to belong. She found it. But in order to keep it, she'll have to face betrayals, intrigue, mad science and a world that hates and fears her. A re-imagining of the entire X-universe.
1. Welcome to the Institute

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that Teen Titans and related characters are property of Warner Entertainment.

**X-men RE; Book 1: REset**

**Chapter 1: Welcome to the Institute**

"The Institute was founded ten years ago by Charles Xavier, his wife Moira and their colleague, Erik Lensherr." The dark haired woman leading the orientation tour continued on, gesturing in an animated fashion and speaking in a tone better suited to describing roller coasters or pristine hiking trails instead of a stuffy old mansion-turned-campus.

Cessily Kincaid did her best not to look bored for the woman's sake, but her mind was starting to wonder. Wasn't this all in the brochure?

"Unfortunately, Moira passed away two years ago, and Professor Xavier felt it best to step back from running the school after that. Luckily for the student body, he is still on staff as a guidance counselor and we still have Headmaster Lensherr with us. And this year, we have a new director of student life, Miss Emma Frost."

Cessily zoned out entirely. Yes, this _was_ all in the brochure. Now feeling no obligation to listen, she started studying her surroundings. One of the advantage she'd come to accept about her particular mutation was that if she didn't move her head, it was impossible to tell where her eyes were looking.

But she would never admit that. No matter what amazing things she could do now, she could only fixate on how she used to be a pretty girl, a cheerleader with a real shot at making head cheerleader this school year. Instead, just before the JV finals, she woke up and turned into a blob of liquid metal. A blob which, most of the time was shaped like a pretty cheerleader and inexplicably kept her red hair, but she focused more on the 'blob' than the 'pretty'.

She wasn't dwelling on that now though. Despite the surroundings being stuffy, her fellow students weren't. There was a kid standing beside her on her right that looked like a seven foot tall rock pile. Every time he moved, it was accompanied by the sound of gravel grinding and small tendrils of grit trickling from his joints. Just in front of her, there was a girl with pink hair and honest to god fairy wings whispering back and forth with a humanoid porcupine.

Not everyone had an obvious mutation. There was one really cute guy standing off to the side with his arms folded as if to say he wasn't actually part of the group. Nice clothes, slick hair and he was definitely rocking the bad boy routine. She almost turned her head to get a better look.

She glanced back at the tour guide as she led them across the courtyard to the residence hall. Yep, still reciting from the brochure. Why even bother printing them if they were going to be repeated verbatim? It was a shame, really; Cessily had been hoping that the tour would be lead by one of the world famous X-men, like Wolverine or Storm, or Shadowcat instead of this Katherine Pryde woman, who was so dull that dishwater would change the channel when she was on.

Suppressing a giggle at her own joke had the unfortunate side effect of making her snort, which thanks to her metallic biology came out and a quick, shrill flute noise. Mortified, she cringed as a few of the other students looked in her direction.

It was a tense couple of seconds, but she sighed with relief when it seemed that everyone chose to ignore it.

"Did you do that?"

Everyone except the giant rock guy, whose attempt at whispering failed so spectacularly that Cessily expected an explosion. The explosion would have been quieter.

She cringed anew and nodded. "Yeah, sorry." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ms. Pryde eying them. Probably labeling them as trouble makers for the rest of the year.

Someone snickered and Cessily looked to find a brown haired girl pointing at her while whispering to a slightly older boy with white hair.

They distracted Ms. Pryde from Cessily. "Wanda, Pietro, you two know the grounds already, why are you even on the tour?"

"What?" The boy asked, talking fast and with a hint of an accent, "We're technically first years and this tour's for first years, right? So I say we should be part of the tour. But more important, Teach, Lorna's never been and we're not about to let her wander around her alone on her first day. She's our baby sister after all."

He jerked his thumb at a girl with green hair who was standing far enough away from them that she might as well have been alone. She shrank at the attention as if I physically burned her. Green bangs fell to hide her face as she became suddenly interested in the ground.

Ms. Pryde sighed. "Be that as if may, we only have a little bit of the tour left, so if we can all refrain from being rude just a little longer, that would be great. Somewhere in that 'all', Cessily thought the teacher looked directly at her. Maybe she wasn't as saved as she thought.

As the tour started up again, Cessily looked around the courtyard. Some of the other students, those who were already enrolled, were out and about. A boy a little younger than her, probably fourteen or fifteen, was playing guitar under a tree with his bright, red wings fluffed out behind him. He'd gathered a small audience, mostly of girls, one of whom was wearing a burqua.

Further away, a blonde woman and three girls were making their way up from the parking lot. All three were carrying shopping bags and the three girls, all blondes themselves and of the same height, were strung out behind the woman like duckling following their mother.

There was also a Frisbee game in progress, but she couldn't see anything clearly different in the players beyond one of them being enormous both in height and girth.

And to think, just two weeks ago, she'd never met another mutant in person. She wished her parents could see it. Maybe then they'd understand that it wasn't such a rare and terrible thing. If only they had come with instead of helping her pack and putting her in a cab to the airport.

The procession of new students arrived at the residence hall. According to Ms. Pride, by way of the brochure, it was the original Xavier mansion, before the semi-attached academic wing and powers training center were constructed. It looked the part; a stately three story affair with a stone patio that took up most of the front. A ramp ran up to the tall double doors with stairs on either side, decorated with planters exhibiting a riot of colorful flowers.

At the top of the ramp were two figures; a bald man in wheelchair and another man in a suit that looked too larger for him. As the group drew closer, Cessily saw why: the second man was wearing articulated metal armor underneath the suit that left only his head and hands uncovered.

She didn't even need to recall the brochure to know that these were Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, better known to the world at large as the founders and leaders of the X-men: Professor X and Magneto.

Ms. Pryde smiled brightly up at them and bought the group to a halt just up the stairs. She stepped aside and gestured grandly to the two men. "Before you all get to see your new rooms, I'd like you all to meet the men that made this all possible" Professor Charles Xavier and Dr. Erik Lensherr."

Cessily didn't remember him being a 'doctor' before, but her understanding of the Institute and the X-men were limited to the brochure and what was said in the media—and the media wasn't in favor of either.

"Good afternoon, everyone." Professor Xavier began. He looked good for being in his seventies and was in better shape then she expected a wheelchair bound geriatric to be. "It's good to see you all here, the newest generation to take part in my dream of a better world for all mutants. I understand that many of you have not lived the most happy or comfortable lives,"

Behind Cessily, someone huffed petulantly. She pretended to adjust her stance on the stairs to see who and found another girl with pink hair, a hotter shade than the butterfly girl's. Shards of bone poked through the skin around the orbit of her left eye and from her forehead. She had the look of someone who wasn't exactly there on their own volition and gave Cessily an evil glare when she caught her staring.

Cessily quickly looked away and paid attention to the Professor again.

"...and I understand that you may have been hurt, exploited or abandoned in your short, but difficult lives."

Close enough, Cessily thought. She tried not to be bitter. All in all, her parents becoming more distant from her was better than them kicking her out of the house or outright attacking her like she heard happened to other young mutants. That didn't make it hurt less. She caught her shoulders dropping, which for her meant that they were starting to ooze out of her sleeves and mustered her will to square them again. Things were changing. Life would be better here.

"But I want you to know that now that you are part of this school, I will personally do everything in my power not only to protect you from those who seek to do you harm, but to teach you how to have an active hand in changing out world into one where baseline humans and those of us who harbor the X-gene can live side by side in peace, prosperity and brotherhood."

"Indeed." Where the Professor's voice was kind and mild, Dr. Lensherr's was deep, rich and powerful; untouched by his advanced age. Some of the students actually flinched when he broke in. His expression at that was one of controlled satisfaction.

"Ah, forgive my appearance children. Certain health concerns have recently necessitated that I do something to reduce strain on my joints and bones. Luckily, my powers provide me with a unique means of effecting this: the armor that you see is an exoskeleton, held together by my command of magnetism. It allows me to use my mutant abilities rather than the waning strength of my muscle and bones to support myself and to move."

There was a noise like a generator surging and Dr. Lensherr levitated into the air three feet. "As you can see, it comes with some fringe benefits as well. In addition to normal school subject and our unique social program which Charles alluded to, you will also learn to harness your powers in new and amazing ways, much like I have." He lowered himself to the patio again. "Do not think that name 'homo superior' is something you are. It is something you earn. This place will teach you how."

Professor Xavier chuckled uncomfortably. "Though we prefer not to use that term." He cleared his throat. "In any event, welcome to the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. We will not detain you any longer, as once you are settled in your rooms, we will have time to properly introduce you to the school as part of the orientation assembly at three o'clock."

He rolled his chair to the side so as to allow everyone entry into the building. "I look forward to getting to know you all much better during your stay here."

"Thank you Professor, Dr. Lensherr." said Ms. Pryde. "Come along everyone. Your RA's are just inside with your room assignments."

XRE-XRE-XRE

**AN:** X-men RE is a re-imagining of the X-men series from the top down, following in the spirit of X-men: Evolution. The first book, REset is a primer on the new universe that puts all of the various plans in motion and the players on the field. I've messed with ages, origins and in some cases, even powers to keep the spirit of the series alive while opening up chances to surprise the audience. I hope everyone enjoys it.

A lot of people are going to be wondering what this is and why I haven't started on my What Grows in Deception sequel (a Teen Titans fic). This is something that came to me out of nowhere that I think will be quite good if I manage to maintain it.

Finally, for anyone who enjoys my work, I also write an original superhero websrial: The Descendants, linked in my profile.


	2. Cess's Roommate

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that X-men and related characters are property of Marvel Comics and Disney.

**X-men RE; Book 1: REset**

**Chapter 2: Cess's Roommate**

The meeting with the RA's was the typical stuff Cessily was used to from cheer camp: keep the noise down, clean up after yourself, no boys in your room with the doors closed, no drinking, no smoking, no drugs. The two girls' RA's were a dark-skinned girl with white hair who introduced herself as Ororo, and a green haired (what was up with all these people with weird hair?) fuss-budget named Betsy Braddock, who talked with a British accent that Cessily thought was only used in the movies.

Of the two, Cessily decided she'd look for Ororo first if she ever needed an RA; not that she intended to ever need one if she could help it.

Once the meeting was over, they got their room assignments and were directed to the back porch of the residence hall to pick up their luggage.

Unlike cheer camp, Cessily was packed light. Thanks to being made of metal now, she didn't need anything in the way of toiletries, and her skin and hair were so slick that even if she had something that could enhance a silver complexion, it wouldn't stay on for long. She also didn't have to eat or drink, so she had no use for a hot plate, water filter or anything else food related.

In the end, she only had a single suitcase full of clothes and her laptop bag. Claiming those, she quickly headed to her room to make sure she got the better bed.

She didn't have to worry. Before becoming a dorm room, her's, like all the others, had been guest rooms in the massive Xavier mansion. The ceiling was high, the floors were hardwood, and the beds both looked bigger than her father's car.

"If nothing else, I'll be comfortable." She mused aloud before putting her suitcase on the bed next to the window to claim it. Before she could open it, however, something caught her notice: the room had an eastern exposure. So when the sun rose every morning, it would turn her into the world's only sapient disco ball.

Sighing, she picked up her suitcase and moved it to the other bed. "Hope you appreciate it..." She checked the paper with her roommate's name on it, "Sarah Rushman. I used to really like getting up at sunrise on Saturdays."

With Sarah Rushman nowhere in evidence, and her sleeping arrangement chosen by the less than considerate direction the Earth rotated, she set about unpacking. It didn't take long before she had an empty suitcase and a room that looked just as bare as when she started.

"Okay, To Do List Number One: Posters, plants, maybe a small, tasteful fountain."

A soft laugh made her jump. She turned around the see that it was the first green haired girl, the one she'd seen during the tour. Flush with embarrassment from her faux pas, she belatedly knocked on the open door. "Sorry."

"No, that's okay. Just trying to figure out how I'm going to make this place look like home. Hi, I'm Cessily Kincaid. But you can call me Cess if you want."

"Lorna Dane." the girl replied in a quiet voice. And I guess you can call me Polaris?"

Cessily raised an eyebrow. This shy girl couldn't be up to anything that required a codename. "Excuse me?" She asked lamely.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Lorna affected a shrug. "My father thinks we should all have our legal name, then a _homo superior _name. And apparently mine's Polaris." Her voice sped up so she could get away from the topic of her family, "But anyway, we're neighbors. Sharing a bathroom."

Bathrooms were another thing that were no longer in Cessily's purview. "Oh, well it's nice to meet you. Have you met your roommate yet?"

Lorna gave her a thankful look for not asking after her father. Just saying _homo superior_ was enough to make any mutant know who she was talking about, especially so soon after his book tour and the attendant public outcry at his insinuations the mutation and the X-gene were part of the natural progression; and that mutants would eventually become the dominant species.

"I have, actually. She talks a lot, but she's really nice. She's from Wales an—" The next part was cut off in a squeal as someone shoved past her into the room.

It was the girl who had been standing behind Cessily during the tour, the one with the bones growing out of her skin. "Pretties better watch out. Next time, they might get trampled." She muttered. Without even acknowledging Cessily, she went to the middle of the room and paused, looking around with a sharp, animal glare.

Lorna stared, scandalized and confused at the newcomer. "Did she just... and then.."

Cessily shrugged sympathetically and tried to get the rude girl's attention. "Um, hi. I'm Cessily, and this is Lorna. Are you Sarah?"

The girl glanced back suspiciously and spoke with dangerous slowness, "Marrow."

After a beat, Lorna couldn't seem to help herself. "Oh, because of the bones."

"I guess she's read your dad's book." Cessily quickly put herself between Marrow and Lorna in case the former got it in her head that the latter was being insulting. The incredibly cruel smile that spread itself across Marrow's face made her think she had the right idea in doing so.

Without saying a word, the rude girl reached up and took hold of one of the knobby outgrowths on the side of her head. Staring straight at Lorna, she very slowly pulled it out. The noise was nauseating, and the slick, red bone finally slipped free from her skin looked like a horror movie icepick. Both Cessily and Lorna recoiled from the display, which made Marrow's grin even wider.

She examined the bone in her hand a moment, and it must have passed muster, because she stowed it in the tattered jacket she wore over a faded old T-shirt and sweats, both too large for her. She also had an old, battered bookbag on her back. "Good. Now Pretty _and_ Shiny will leave me alone. I'm only here because the Weather Witch promised a place to stay."

Cessily got over her revulsion over the bone quickly upon hearing that. "Weather Witch? You mean Storm? You know Storm? That is so cool!"

Now it was Marrow's turn to pull back, not used to enthusiasm in a positive context. Still, she never took her eyes off either girl in the room. "Yeah." She finally said with high hopes that a straight answer would make Cessily go away. "Ororo."

"Ororo the RA?" Cessily was oblivious to Marrow's discomfort. "_Our_ RA? Lorna, did you hear that? This is amazing! RA's are like mentors, right? We're going to be mentees to Storm!"

"Is 'mentee' a word?" Lorna asked.

"Oh that's not important, aren't you excited?"

Lorna frowned. "Well... I guess she's famous and all, but I'm really not sure I want to be an X-man. They do a lot of good, but they're in danger all the time."

Cessily shook her head. "Lorna, don't worry about it. It's not like I want to be an X-woman myself. But how often do you live with someone famous _and_ who has to have the most interesting stories ever." It was at that point that her brain finally caught up with her mouth. "...except you're related to someone famous and now I sound like a crazy, obsessive person..."

Now it was Lorna shaking her head. "Don't worry. I'm still getting used to it, actually. I didn't even know that my dad was my dad until my mother died last fall." She pursed her lips and looked at the floor. "That's when he found me."

Cessily's enthusiasm dissolved into a meltwater of sympathy. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Thank you." Lorna tried to smile, but the pain was to recent. Once again, she found safety in changing the subject. "So, really, I'm just as new here as you are. My brother and sister, they're trying to show me the basics and everything, but... well I don't think they like me very much."

"Well I like you." Cessily offered, putting her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "And I'm an only child, so I know that you don't need a brother or sister to have lots of friends. I'm pretty much all unpacked, so how about we go meet some of our classmates?"

Behind her, a door slammed. Both girls looked to find Marrow missing and the closet that wasn't holding Cessily's clothes firmly closed.

"... Nicer people than my roommate."

**A/N:** Originally, Lorna was going to be a bit character with the joke being that Pietro and Wanda are terrible siblings, but she just came out too adorable not to be included in the 'main' group. Marrow was a natural for this series, as she got bumped from the Evolution roster in favor of Spyke (who was terrible) and then was a pretty interesting character in WatXM. She appears here with her later-day comics persona and her WatXM age.

Next Chapter: the girls meet the Greatest Comedy Duo in X-men history.


	3. How to Fail the Bechdel Test

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that X-men and related characters are property of Marvel Comics and Disney.

**X-men RE; Book 1: REset**

**Chapter 3: How to Fail the Bechdel Test**

Cessily tried to hide her disappointment when Lorna suggested that it would be easier to meet people by going down to lunch.

Like a lot of things, lunch meant something entirely different to her now than it had before she got her powers. Never mind the silver skin and a lack of both irises and pupils in her eyes, it was not needing food or drink that seemed to push her off into the uncanny valley for most people.

When things first started, her parents tried not to be put off by her. Even some of her less mutant-phobic friends did too. But when they sat down to lunch (they obviously couldn't be seen in public with her), she could see the off-put looks as they ate and her plate and cup remained untouched.

She'd learned to fake it toward the end, before her parents finally decided to ship her off. After all, she could take bites and just let the food swirl around inside. But it felt exactly how having pieces of hamburger and fries swirling inside of you sounded like it would, and by then, it was too late to try and look normal.

But she followed Lorna anyway, because this was her frist new friend at the Institute, and she wasn't going to give up that easily.

The cafeteria was very modern compared to the exteriors of the school; all brushed metal and white plastic with rounded edges. It was like walking around inside of an iPod. Food was served buffet style with smiling staff behind the counters ready to cut off pieces of meat, or make recommendations.

There were color coded slashes on the sneeze guards. According to the new student guide, those were there for the benefit of students with certain dietary restrictions, be they religious, ethical, or biological in nature. She'd noticed that orange was for 'Vegan Obligate Carnivores' and wondered how that even worked.

As the cafeteria was open for all manner of eating schedules, there wasn't much of a line and it took almost no time for Lorna to make her selections.

"You're not getting anything?"

Self consciously, Cessily grabbed a can of soda from a nearby cold case. Cans were good; as long as no one picked up the can, they could never tell how much you actually drank. "I'm not very hungry."

Lorna nodded, because there wasn't a reason not to accept that, and looked around the room. "Where do you think we should sit?"

Cessily closed her eyes a moment and thanked her lucky starts that Lorna didn't press things further. Then she opened them again and looked around too. Lorna was eying a corner where they wouldn't have to interact with anyone longingly.

This was another thing Cessily wasn't going to give up on. She was a people person, damn it, and she wasn't about to let herself and her new friend become wallflowers.

And just about then, her train of thought hit the cow of distraction. Or at least that's how she'd put it in her journal later.

The cafeteria's dining room had one wall that was actually taken up by a bank of windows and a pair of glass doors that opened onto a sunny outside area set up with picnic tables. At the particular moment, a blonde girl who looked, if possible, more nervous and shy than Lorna skittered out of her field of view, leaving Cessily with a clear and unobstructed view of Him.

He was at the head of his table, talking animatedly with the guy made of rock Cessily had seen on the tour, and a boy with green skin and spikes in place of hair. Whatever he was saying had them rolling with laughter.

Raven haired, and athletic, the boy reminded her of the lead singer in an indie band she used to sneak out to go see back home. And though he was just dressed in a Dodgers jersey and khakis, he held himself with authoritative dignity.

Even though she wasn't really sure she even had one in the liquid metal blob she called a body, Cessily felt her heart flutter. "Why don't we go over there?" She pointed at the table, not the boy.

Lorna dithered, still eying her nice, safe corner. "Outside? What about bugs?"

"I'm sure they spray for bugs." Cessily said, looping her arm in the other girls. It wouldn't do for her to abandon her, even for a boy.

"What..." Lorna had to think quick, as chances of flying under the radar were fading fast. She'd suggested going to the cafeteria just to get as far away from Cessily's roommate as she could, but now it was looking like she'd have to make good on haivng to talk to people. And that was scary. "What about chemicals."

"They're rich, I'm sure they can afford safe bug sprays." Cessily was starting to drag Lorna now. With her change in biology came increased strength, so Lorna found her shoes sliding along the floor and her arm starting to ache. There really was no choice but to start walking or be pulled off her feet.

"Okay." Lorna said helplessly.

"So do you know who that is?" Cessily asked.

"The rock guy?"

"No, the cute one."

"The lizard guy?" Cessily paused at this and looked at Lorna, who looked away, blushing slightly. "Father says 'we shouldn't limit our preferences to human standards of beauty'."

If that was what Magneto was preaching in his book, Cessily was going to see if the man had a fan club she could join. If more people subscribed to that, maybe there was hope for her after all. IF she were able to, she'd be blushing too. "I mean the other guy though."

"Oh." said Lorna. "Pietro knows him. His name's Julian something. He was here for summer session."

They stepped out into the sunlight and Cesisly was painfully aware that her body was throwing reflections everywhere. She did her best to ignore it. "Did your brother tell you anything else?"

Lorna shrugged, knowing she had nothing useful. "He's telekinetic?" Pietro is a lot like Father that way: the mutant parts are most important."

Cess rolled her eyes. "I guess we'll just have to get to know him the old fashioned way." She half pulled Lorna the last few feet until she was at the other end of the table from Julian, who was in the middle of an anecdote.

"...so Brian says 'Man, if I could do that, you tihnk I'd be asking you to introduce me to girls?'"

The rock guy broke into uproarious laughter, pounding on the table, which, as it turned out, was probably made of something much stranger than the wood it appeared to be. "Dude, that's so gold! 'Cause Tag's power sucks for picking up girls!"

Across from him, the lizard kid had been laughing, but that was quickly being overridden by annoyance at his friend's boorishness. "How did you two even get into a slub like that, Julian?"

"There's not a lot of places you can't get into with my allowance, Vic." Julian said smoothly, just before noticing that they weren't alone at the table anymore. He smiled a charming smile and inclined his head. "Hi there, girls. You look like you're new here."

"Yeah." Cessily said a little too quickly. "Well, Lorna's not really all that new, 'cause her dad's Magneto, but I am." If she still breathed, she would have been panting with how fast that came out. Far too late, another thought caught up to the onslaught. "Oh! And Cessily. That's my name. Or Cess. Whichever."

There was a long, mortifying pause before Rock Guy, as she was now thinking of him, turned to the others and stage whispered. "You think there's like some mutant thing that makes you talk fast and crazy? Cause first there was that chick with the cotton candy hair and dragonfly wings, now this silver chick... hope it just works on chicks, 'cause that would suck."

"Santo." Vic the lizard boy snapped, "She's standing right there. And you're too dumb to lower your voice!"

Julian's smile faded into a long suffering sigh and an apologetic look at the girls. "Cess, Lorna, right?" He waited for a nod of confirmation. "This is Vic, we call him Anole, but he doesn't like it."

"Have you ever even seen an anole?" Vic asked Julian.

"My cousin had one." Santo interrupted, "They're stinky little runt lizards that stick to walls. Totally you."

Vic looked like he was going to jump up and see if a punch in the jaw hurt rock monsters, but Julian raised a hand and a field of green energy physically held him in place until he calmed down. Without even acknowledging that bit of conversation, he continued, "The loudmouth here is Santo. We call him Rockslide."

"Cause it's the wrestling name I'm gonna take when I'm old enough to join the Super-weight wrestling circuit." Santo flexed, though being made entirely from rocks, the pose didn't show off any muscles, thought he has some impressive boulders where biceps would be.

Continuing to ignore him, Julian gestured to himself. "And I'm Julian. You can call me Hellion."

"For the time being." Vic muttered. "No way Frost lets you keep that once she finds out."

Julian have him a haughty look. "It's like an homage. She'll be touched."

"Heh. You said Frost would be touched." Santo supplied to both his friends' ire.

"Anyway," Julian snapped his attention back to the girls, "Have a seat if you want. If you're looking for someone to show you around, tell you about the place, I'm the guy to ask. Been here all summer."

"Thanks!" Cessily sat immediately and Lorna wasn't far behind, carefully avoiding having to talk by filling her mouth with her chicken salad sandwich. Cessily cracked open her soda and pretended to take a sip. After a pause, she asked, "So what do you do for fun around here?"

Julian turned his chair around ans sat backward on it. "Hanging out mostly. They've got a few seriously old arcade games, a pool table and some fooseball in the rec room, pretty nice swimming pool, basketball courts—you know, the usual."

"Big ass TV in the TV room too." Santo added.

For the first time, all three boys seemed in agreement on this. Julian carried on. "Of course, there's better stuff in town."

Cessily arched an eyebrow. Like the hair on her head, her brows stayed red for whatever reason mutant powers did anything. "You go out into town? Is it safe? Because I saw in TV how sometimes, people on the street will just chase down mutant kids."

Julian laughed almost derisively. "Yeah in a lot of places, but Salem Center's cool with us. Hell, this school's been here so long, it's part of the economy now. They chase the mutants out and the flatscans can say goodbye to their jobs, their mortgage and the car note, know what I mean?"

"Everything except flatscans." Cessily admitted. She remembered her mission to include Lorna, so she addressed the question to her. "Have you ever heard of a 'flatscan'?"

Lorna, in turn, addressed her chips. "Pietro uses it sometimes. It's a nasty thing to say about normal humans."

"No, it's a nasty thing to say about _us_ to call them normal." Julian pointed out. "Because that makes us _abnormal_."

Cessily looked down at her own reflection in her forearm, than at the green-haired girl, the lizard boy, the rock guy, and what appeared to be a man-sized, pink jello mold slithering across the lawn and frowned. "We're not?"

"Hell no." Julian said with pride and zeal in his eyes. "You haven't read her dad's book? Next step in evolution, babe. That's us. We're not abnormal, we're ahead of the curve."

"Oh." Cessily said, wondering if that was really true and deciding to change the subject. "So... it's okay to go into town then?"

Vic laughed. "It's not just okay, it's mandatory. Didn't you read your class schedule?"

She'd given it a once over or two. From How Lorna was suddenly looking even more worried, it seemed that at least she'd read what he was talking about. "What about it?"

"There's a list of businesses in town on the back that are part of this 'Mutant Human Relations' program. You pick one and you have to work there at least two hours a week there. More if you want extra credit... or the extra cash." He sounded scornful of the idea that that might be a motivation.

Cessily chuckled nervously because she would really like some extra money, especially since it didn't look like Sarah would be doing any decorating of her own. But she didn't want Julian to know that. "Oh. I should really look into that then."

Except Julian wasn't listening. Instead, he'd developed a thousand yard stare as if focusing on something she wasn't aware of.

E-excuse me?" She asked.

Julian snapped back to himself. "Sorry. That was Frost."

"Huh?"

"Telepaths." Santo said with a bored and annoyed tone. "You get used to it."

Julian nodded and started to get up. "She wants to see me."

"Probably because she heard you've been going around calling yourself Hellion." Vic snarked.

"Nope. She wanted me to bring _you_ to see her." Julian pointed to Cessily. He laughed at her expression. "It's nothing bad, turns out she's your academic adviser like she is mine. I'll let you take the shortcut." He held out a hand and a platform of shimmering, green energy formed a few inches off the ground. "Hop on."

Cessily barely contained her excitement. Never mind whoever Frost was, she was going to get to spend time with a cute boy—alone. She gave poor Lorna an apologetic look. "I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

The girl nodded and said nothing, or might as well have for all the speed Cessily jumped onto the TK platform.

Seconds later, they were on their way, Julian flying and towing the platform behind with his powers.

A moment of awkward silence passed as Lorna, Vic and Santo looked at one another. Finally, Santo pointed at Lorna's plate. "Hey, are those chips barbecue?"

XRE-XRE-XRE

**A/N:** A lot of people who have me on Author alert are wondering where I've been and why I'm not updatng Menace. Let's just say I've had a bad couple of months and haven't really had the spark for it lately. I'll get back to it's promise.

On to this fic: Anole and Rockslde are a comics comedy duo cool enough to rival Power Man and Iron Fist. I love these guys! A lot of this drew from New Mutants vol 2, but obviously, there's going to be some shake-ups. For example, Cess having a crush on Julian.

We're still in the set-up phase here though so expect some surprises along the way.

Next Chapter: Meeting Miss Frost. Emma greets Cessily and introduces her to the other kids she's mentoring. I guarantee you won't see these coming.


	4. Meeting Miss Frost

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that X-men and related characters are property of Marvel Comics and Disney.

**X-men RE; Book 1: REset**

**Chapter 4: Meeting Miss Frost**

Cessily couldn't help but look over her shoulder as she followed Julian into the school's main building. It was wrong to have abandoned poor, shy Lorna like that. The girl really didn't know what to do in social situations; that much was obvious even in the time she'd known her, and she really needed a friend.

Then her gaze wondered back to Julian and she once again felt like she was blushing even though it wasn't possible.

She'd make it up to Lorna. Besides, sometimes the best way to learn how to swim was being thrown in the deep end.

A brief flashback later involving an older cousin, a public pool and a six ear old Cessily having to be rescued by a lifeguard dispelled that notion immediately. She'd have to do something really great to make up for this.

"So, where're you from?" Julian asked, breaking her out of her guilt spiral.

"Huh? Oh. Wow. Most people ask what you can do, ya know?" She rubbed the back of her head and forced a lame laugh

Julian shrugged and started up the stairs leading up from the hall they were in. "You're made of like liquid metal. Not hard to guess. Terminator 2, right?"

Cessily groaned. She used to love that movie. "Yeah, Terminator 2. Just call me T-1000's little sister."

He laughed. "Doesn't sound like a good idea if I don't want my head punched off. I'm guessing you're pretty tired of hearing about it." She nodded. "Right. So where're you from?"

"Seattle." She said. "Nothing much to say about it. It rains, there's coffee... we lived in the 'burbs. How about you?"

"La-La land, baby." Julian flashed her a grin and stood on the landing, gesturing expansively as if showing off an invisible mansion. "Right up in the Hills."

Cessily blinked. This guy was too good to be true. Clever, funny, handsome and now... rich and... "So your parents are..."

"Not famous." He said, almost bitterly. "They own some company in the Fortune 500. Don't ask what they do because I never did." As suddenly as the bitterness arrived, it dissolved into another confident grin. "but anyway, got any questions before we meet Frost?"

Deciding to ignore the out of character moment, Cessily shrugged casually. "I don't know; you said you were here for summer session, right? Any people I should know?"

"As in the 'in' crowd?" He asked. "Well there's Rockslide and Anole of course—plus yours truly. My friend Tag is probably going to be moving back in by next week, Specter left, unfortunately..." He stopped to think about who else might be considered part of his group—no one else's group mattered of course.

Cessily leaned against the wall, her shoulder flattening across the surface a moment before she noticed and stopped it. It looked like she'd have to be a bit more direct to get the knowledge she was fishing for. "Any girls? Like _special_ girls?"

Julian turned on his full charms and gave her a look that could melt butter. "I've still got my eye out. The school year's young, ya know?"

There was that blushing feeling again. "Yeah, I know." She said quickly, not having expected that answer or reaction.

For his part, Julian seemed to know exactly what he was doing and started up the next flight of stairs. "For now though, we better get a move on. You really don't wanna get on the White Queen's side."

"White Queen?" Cessily started after him on wobbly legs. She wished that expression wasn't literal for her. Plus, the name seemed to ring a bell.

"Miss Frost." Julian corrected. "She's probably one of the coolest teachers on campus, but if you get in trouble with her... she's worse than Miss Grey."

Cessily knew she knew that name. "Miss... ask in Jean Grey? As in the Phoenix?"

Julian rounded on her so quickly that she almost fell down the stairs leaning away from him. "Whoa. Word of advice? We don't talk a lot about the big, flaming bird around here. Especially not around her, or Cyclops or Wolverine. Even _I_ don't bring that one up." His panic, like the earlier bitterness, quickly dissolved. "Plus, her and Cyclops's daughter is kinda hot."

It wasn't the idea that she had competition that caught Cessily's ear there, it was certain obvious mathematical problems. "Wait. But I've seen Cyclops on TV. He's like in his twenties. That would make his daughter... ew!" She drew back from him in horror.

There was a beat before Julian figured out what he was being accused of and had almost the same reaction. "What?! No! She's his daughter from the future. She's our age. Jeez, Cess, give me some credit."

She wasn't sure which of those explanations actually made more sense. "Did you just say 'daughter from the future'?"

"You actually know exactly as much as I do." He conceded, "But seeing as how the Comp Sci teacher has a dragon and I move things with my mind, I figure, 'benefit of the doubt' is the best policy. With everything. Ever."

He had her there, Cessily was forced to admit. Plus, plausible or not, it was preferable to the alternative. "I guess you're right." She followed him up to the next landing, where they turned off into the hall where the staff had their offices.

As they were coming off the stairs, someone was heading for them, a tall, well built man with white skin and hair so black that it shone blue under the lights. His eyes were pure white, and there was a red jewel embedded in the middle of his forehead. He stepped aside to let them past, straightening his black suit.

"Good afternoon, children." He said in a hushed voice that echoed slightly.

The creepiness of that voice sent a shiver through Cessily, but Julian seemed unfazed. "Hey, Mr. Essex." He greeted in passing. Once they were past him, he turned to Cessily. "That's one of the science teachers. He's really cool too. As long as I've been here, he's never turned anyone in that he caught breaking the rules."

"Huh." was all she could say. Obviously, she shouldn't be judging a book by its cover—or its voice—at the Institute.

There wasn't any more time for conversation as Julian led her to a polished wooden door bearing a brass plate that read: 'Emma Frost, Director of Student Life, Peer Mediator, Economics'.

"They like to double up on the staff positions a lot don't they." Cessily wondered aloud as Julian held the door open for her.

"Not a lot of mutants with degrees." Julian pointed out.

Cessily walked past him and into the room. It was a large, airy office with lush, wine colored carpeting, modern couches and chairs, built for maximum lounging possibilities arrayed around a glass and steel coffee table, and large, floor to ceiling windows looking out over the campus. A mahogany desk sat on the other side of the room with bookcases behind and several framed degrees and certificates in evidence.

There were other teens in the room too; a girl in a brown leather jacket over a green t-shirt and torn jeans sat by herself on one of the tasteful, white leather couches, slumped over with her elbows on her knees and chin cupped in her gloved hands. She flicked a gaze over Cessily and Julian, then returned her gaze to the bowl of chocolate covered cherries on the table. Her auburn hair shifted with the movement, revealing a shock of white above her left temple.

Another mutant with weird hair, Cessily mentally added to the list.

In a seat near the window, there was a dark skinned boy with close cropped hair. He was wearing a light, button down shirt and slacks, as well as a pair of wireframe glasses. He nodded in greeting to Cessily and started to lift a hand to wave when Julian stepped in behind her. A look of disdain crossed his face and he lowered the hand.

Drama, Cessily thought. It had probably been foolish of her to hope she'd gotten away from that, but it would have been nice to have that as a plus, seeing as it was one of the few things she wouldn't have missed from her old school.

In the seat next to him was another girl. Tall and proud in her bearing, she was of Middle Eastern descent, with dusky skin and long, dark, silky hair she wore tied back. She wore a coffee colored, satin blouse under a black knit jacket with half length sleeves, dark brown capris and chunky, black heels. She didn't even notice Cessily and Julian's arrival, as she was focused on a class schedule form she was still filling out.

And finally, sitting apart from everyone, there was another boy sitting on the desk. One leg was up with a heavy combat boot atop the day planner while the other dangled freely. The first thing Cessily noticed were his eyes: black with red irises. There seemed to be an eternal, smug amusement behind them.

His hair was nearly the same shade as the first girl's if a bit lighter and far, far more messy, having to be held back by a black headband. He wore a tight maroon shirt and black jeans. And he was performing trick shuffles with a deck of cards.

Seeing as how no one in the room was being particularly chatty, Cessily took it upon herself to break the ice. "Hi there." She summoned up all her old cheerleader pep and bubble and smiled as brightly as she could. "I'm Cessily. So... you all have Miss Frost as an adviser too?"

The boy with the cards finally stopped shuffling and the deck disappeared without Cessily seeing where it went. Sliding off the table, he sidled over to her with a half amused quirk on his lips. When he spoke, it was with an accent she didn't recognize.

"That we are, _cher_, such as we are." That was directed over her shoulder, presumably at Julian. He gave a flourishing little bow, took her hand and to her shock at the anachronism, kissed it. "The name's Remy Lebeau, but some folks like it better when they call me Gambit."

Cessily smiled. So Julian wasn't the only one that could turn on the charm.

The girl with the stripe in her hair snorted. "Oh please." As it turned out, she said it at the same time Julian did and the two of them shot each other an odd look.

Remy shot her a look of his own, ever proud. "Jealous?"

"Not hardly." the girl folded her arms reticently. She had an accent of her own, a deep southern twang. "'specially since you used the same lines with me, and her just five minutes ago." she pointed to the other girl.

"Nobody say I was doin' lines." Remy shrugged and turned back to Cessily. "That's just how we be friendly down on the bayou."

"And yet you didn't feel the need to be all cheesy with me or him." Julian folded his arms too.

"Don't try and drag me into this." said the black guy. Then he said to Cessily. "I'm David by the way. And these are Monet," he nodded to the girl beside him, "And... uh..."

The girl with the striped hair scowled a moment before realizing that she wasn't going to get away with not telling. "Ya'll can just call me Rogue."

Cessily took the opportunity to slip from between Julian and Remy and went to sit next to Rogue on the couch. Rogue in turn immediately scooted further away. Seeing the traces of shock and confusion in the girl's face, Rogue reluctantly spoke again. "No offense, but I try an' not get close to people."

"That's too bad..." Remy mused.

"Oh give it a rest, Corn Pone." said Julian.

Remy just smirked. "See, now you're just getting' confused. You an' your little friends call her and that Guthrie gal Corn Pone—an' it's pronounced 'cone pone'. Me, you call Gumbo."

He shifted his hand and a card—the Ace of spades—seemed to appear in it. "In fact, how 'bout I teach you not to go callin' people names at all!" He threw the card and it snapped through the air like a thrown knife.

Julian gasped and threw up a wall of TK energy just in time...

For the card to bounce harmlessly off and flutter to the floor.

In the time it took Julian to both erect the defense and then notice it wasn't needed, Remy had moved around to sit on the table. From her vantage point, Cessily saw him reach back and palm two of the chocolates from the bowl.

"You complete asshole!" Julian fumed, dropping the shield.

Still concealed in Remy's palm, the chocolate began to vibrate violently, their pent up energy starting to whine with overlapping surging sounds. Without warning, he whipped his arm around and threw them at Julian. "That's two for flinching, _homme_."

The chocolates came in too fast for Julian to raise another shield and exploded in air, spattering him with melted chocolate, pulp and cheery syrup.

A moment of stunned silence filled the room as Julian surveyed the 'damage' and Remy doubled over in fits of silent laughter.

Then the young telekinetic's eyes flared with green light and he lifted into the air, his fists blazing with TK energies. "That's it! This has been coming all summer, you backward swamp ape!"

Two more cards appeared in Remy's hand and started vibrating with the same whine. Only these built up so much energy that they glowed with rose and yellow light. "I been waitin' for this. Come on!"

"Children!" A single, forceful word came form the vicinity of the door. And with it came a stomach churning feeling of vertigo as something pressed against everyone's consciousness and made them stop what they were doing.

Julian's energy signature flickered out and he dropped to the floor, barely able to keep his balance. At the same time, Remy's cards stopped vibrating and were left with smoldering edges.

Standing in the door was Emma Frost. Cessily had seen her form afar before, and hadn't known her name at the time, but that was the only person it could be because if someone else was called the White Queen, they needed to give this woman the crown.

She was tail and lean with a body that was the kind of perfect only surgery could create and she wasn't above showing it off either, as evidenced by her tight, white leather pants, tall, white heels and what could only be described as a white vinyl corset. Her blonde hair was flawlessly styled and her nails were snow white daggers, probably honed by a team of manicurists. Even her lips, and Cessily cringed at the pun, were frosted with white gloss.

Even with one word spoken, it was clear from her bearing that this woman as In Charge, capital letters definitely intended; not because she was allowed, or asked, but because she said so.

Held in front of her, gripped by the shoulders like a field mouse caught by a hawk, was a timid looking blonde girl Cessily remembered from the cafeteria earlier. She was looking on at the aftermath of Julian and Remy's battle with Remy with wide, horrified eyes.

Emma subtly placed a hand on the girl's temple and she instantly relaxed, if by only a little bit.

That taken care of, whatever that was, Emma turned an icy glare on the two boys. "Mr. Keller, Mr. Lebeau, once this meeting is over, you two will stay after and I will explain to you some simple facts: such as how imported cherry cordials are food, not ammunition, why my office is not, in fact, the Danger Room, and why it is a very, very bad idea for either of you to frighten Miss Collins here. Am I understood?"

"He—" Both boys started, but Emma shut them down.

"Am. I. Understood."

Both slumped and shot glares at one another, but neither offered any more resistance.

Emma's stormy air cleared instantly, returning to regal joviality. "Excellent. Now take a seat both of you. You as well, my dear," She added to 'Miss Collins', and all but glided over to her desk to sit where Remy had been before, only she sat primly, with her legs crossed.

After a moment to let them get settled, she smiled genially. "I believe you all should know, first and foremost that I handpicked each of you to be my proteges. Each of you have a tremendous amount of potential and numerous hidden facets and it happens that my passion as an educator is not only recognizing this, but polishing it to the brilliance it deserves."

She gave them a moment for that to sink in. Emma Frost thought they were special and just from how she said it, they knew that meant something, even if they might not believe it. Cessily in particular stole glances at the others, wondering just what in them Emma saw as well as herself.

Finally, Emma spoke again. "The Institute's goal is to allow you to learn to hone your powers and to integrate into a society as equals. My goal is to teach you how to become the select few—human or mutant—who actually excel in society, to be truly superior, not by virtue of powers, but by virtue of your entire person. This little group in this room here represent the students I feel can achieve just that."

She smiled broadly and made an open, nurturing gesture. "Welcome to the first day of your bright future, my New Hellions."

XRE-XRE-XRE

**A/N:** Much shorter turn around this time.

If you've read the New X-men: Academy X series and its immediate predecessors, you might think you know where this is going, but it's not. The New Hellions aren't a squad, they're more like an Honors Society.

Sorry, Romy fans, but I haven't decided how Rogue and Gambit will pan out here. They just happen to be two favorites of mine. Maybe they'll get together, maybe they won't. There are a lot of echoes to relationships in canon, but this is a whole new ballgame and I'm going to take total advantage of it.

Similarly, I'm going to smooth over a LOT of Monet's complicated nature. Emplate and the twins probably still exists, but Monet knows nothing over them. Penance however...

Next Chapter: Getting to Know the New Hellions! Cess tries to make new friends, and Julian is less than happy with arrangements.


	5. Hellions in a Handbasket

**Disclaimer:** This is a fan work created at no profit and for entertainment purposes only. The author acknowledges that X-men and related characters are property of Marvel Comics and Disney.

**X-men RE; Book 1: REset**

**Chapter 5: Hellions in a Handbasket  
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At the words 'New Hellions', Julian was practically vibrating with excitement to the point that Cessily thought for a second that Remy was using his powers on him. The other reactions were mixed: Remy, Rogue and Laurie were all looking around to see how everyone else was taking it like Cessily was. Monet and David, however, shifted uncomfortably.

That tracked with what Victor and Santo had said about Julian trying to take the name for himself. 'Hellion' was a word with baggage.

Ms. Frost noticed this reaction and gave a light laugh. "I see that some of you know a bit of my history already. For the benefit of the rest of you: I have only recently been enticed to the side of the angels as it were and joined with the X-men after having been... among their opposite number."

A villain. Cessily thought. The media talked about mutant criminals (even when they weren't mutants) and terrorists, but normal people knew that the word they were dancing around was 'supervillain'; a term that did a much better job conveying context and scale. Even the worst normal human terrorists couldn't come close to ransoming the world. Or attempting to destroy it. Or trying to eat it.

As if this was the same thing as admitting to dying her hair, Ms. Frost waved it off. "And in that time, I was in charge of nurturing the next generation of the infamous Hellfire Club: my original Hellions." Her voice was mildly wistful as she clasped her hands before her. "The methods I employed in that time were wrong. Let there be no question that I have in fact turned over a new leaf."

Cessily kind of doubted it. Only a supervillainess could be brazen enough to walk around dressed like the White Queen. Even Ms. Marvel's inexplicable thong leotard was in better taste.

Unaware of Cessily's fashion-based alignment system, Ms. Frost continued. "My goals when it came to my young charges, however, had only their best interests at heart. The same can be said for this happy little group." She leaned forward, "You may have heard of Dr. Lensherr's controversial taxonomy for our kind: _homo superior_. This, I believe is a deliciously boastful thought, but it falls short.

"A simple accident of birth simply cannot by itself make any of us superior. Believe me: no matter what you are capable of at this moment, there are, no doubt five eccentric scientists with unfeasibly large grants or billionaire industrialists capable of matching or exceeding your raw, unrefined powers. And if there are a dozen for each of then who can use their wealth and influence to destroy you without ever meeting you face to face."

Ms Frost stood and slowly walked across the wine carpet toward them, arms open to them. "What you really have is potential and a head start by nature of your birthright as mutants. I have hand-picked each of you based on who among the student body I believe has the greatest potential in terms of powers, yes, but also in terms of how much they might benefit from my personal guidance in developing those powers alongside the skills and attitudes necessary to develop wealth and influence to match."

She stopped at the table and made it a point to look each of them in the eye before turning and pacing away with hands behind her back."As my Hellions, you will benefit from my position as Director of Student Life here as the school in the form of special privileges. You will also be invited on special field trips and other learning excursions that your fellow students will not be afforded. However, this will not be a free ride. In return, I will expect you to either earn top marks or prove to me that you are doing absolutely everything in your power to do so. You will also quadruple the weekly hours of your required work in Salem Center to prove that you have the drive and work ethic to be worth my time."

Remy made a rude sound and raised tow fingers. "And what if that ain't the kind of thing we'd be interested in?"

Without turning around, Ms. Frost instantly replied, "Are we afraid of a bit of _honest_ work, Mr. Lebeau?"

A small smirk crept onto the young man's face. "Gotta say I just might be. Back in the bayou, wasn't much call for honest work. Puttin' it your way, let's say that I got a certain 'skill set' that don't go well beside working no till in a supermarket."

Cessily gave him a sidelong glance. Did he really just admit to that? Was he really acting proud of that?

His speech didn't sway Ms. Frost, nor did it seem to surprise her. "I would direct your attention to the fact that we are not on the bayou, Mr. Lebeau. And somehow I doubt that you found your way to our prestigious institution because of your great love for remaining where you were. What I am offering you is elevation out of the world ruled by the games of Thieves and Assassins."

That last sentence made Remy's jaw click shut and he stiffened.

Ms. Frost rounded her desk, then turned about to the group and offered a cold smile. "Of course participation is completely voluntary. All you have to do is ask to be switch to another adviser and I will happily make the same offer to someone more ambitious."

Though she paused for another objection or possible an early opt-out, no one took the opportunity. This made her smile grow a tiny bit... Cessily wanted to call it sinister, but it was probably pleased. "Excellent. Before any of you make any permanent decisions, the next five days here will be devoted to settling in and orientation. In that time, I will not demand anything of you, buy you may still partake of the benefits of my offer. Consider it a trial period."

She opened the center drawer of her desk and produced a fat manilla envelope. "To that effect, I've taken the liberty of having these special versions of your normal student ID made. Among other things, they will grant you unfettered access to the Danger Room's lowest settings and programming core, allow you to leave the school grounds after freshman curfew and return without penalty, and comes with generous discounts at a number of establishments in Salem Center, including free taxi service within city limits."

As Ms. Frost removed the cards from the envelope, Cessily thought about the offer. It didn't make any sense. Why her? She wasn't sure of the others' powers, but she didn't have any potential at all unless there was a huge demand for a girl that was also a puddle. And how did letting them skip out on curfew and get free cab rides groom them for anything but some stupid, teenaged stunt?

And what the heck was a 'Danger Room' and why on Earth would she want to visit one? Considering how Frost dressed, the possibilities were not appealing to Cessily.

"Once you take your card, you are excused." Frost said proudly. "But do remember that you may call upon me or visit me here in my office at any time during school hours. I am here for your benefit and enrichment."

Julian was the first to start forward to claim his card. Apparently waning to prove he wasn't rattled from earlier, Remy was next. Slowly, the others rose as well and headed for the desk. Cessily claimed hers with a polite smile to Ms. Frost before hurrying out of the office.

As soon as she was out the door, Julian was at her side again. "This day just gets better and better. Frost as an adviser, the official okay to bust curfew _and_ free trips to the Danger Room? I can't wait to rub this in Rockslide and Anole's faces."

Further down the hall, Cessily heard Monet speaking with David on their way to the stairs.

"So are you going to stay on?"

"Are you kidding? I feel like I just got offered a bite of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Nothing good can come of this." said David, shaking his head.

Cessily had to agree, but on the other hand, Julian was excited about it, and Julian was really cute, if a bit full of himself. Going on special field trips with a cute guy on top of the other little perks Frost mentioned were enough to convince her to stick it out.

"Yeah... sounds cool" She said casually.

Julian beamed at her. "Hell yeah it does. Man, I so need to show the guys. You think you can find your way around without me?"

She could have said 'no' and it wouldn't have been far from the truth, but while she did think he was cute, Cessily had no intention of playing a dumb damsel for the guy. "Sure, I'll be fine."

"Cool." said Hellion, "Talk t ya later, okay?"

"Sure."

Hellion flashed her another grin before ensconcing himself in a green glow of power and flying off in search of his friends.

For her part, Cessily took a moment to take a look at her ID. Her photo was on it, and if she looked closely enough, she could see the cameraman in her forehead. She sighed.

RE – RE – RE

A/N – It's been a long time since I updated this and I think I finally figured out why I was so slow on these: I try to post these big, huge updates when my fan-ficcing is supposed to be a pleasurable little thing I dash off when I have time between original works.

So I'm going to do some more quick, short chapters from now on and get this and Menace in Mexico going again. The Phantom Reboot will still be big and slow though, because I'm married to the format.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this installment. I like Emma, I really do, but I like her as a bad guy. I feel she's wasted trying to play the hero. Having her trying to do good here, but still coming off as evil feels right to me.

I'm up in the air over if Cess will join or not. State your case in your reviews, and you just might sway me one way or the other. I will say that wither way, the crush she has on Hellion will continue to be a plot point for some time. This might be complicated in the future by the coming of a certain young man with a withering touch.


End file.
